Jack Ma, Alibaba’s charismatic yet elusive co-founder, has re-emerged to take a more active role in steering the company’s strategy, according to reporting by Reuters and Bloomberg. After largely retreating from public view during Beijing’s regulatory crackdown in 2019, Ma has reportedly been involved in product reviews, talent recruitment, and strategic planning sessions across key business units, as the company seeks to regain its edge amid fierce competition and slowing growth.
His return comes as Alibaba battles rising domestic rivals such as PDD Holdings (parent of Pinduoduo and Temu) and JD.com, while trying to catch up in artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and international e-commerce—all areas critical to China’s broader push to stay competitive on the global tech stage.
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Ma’s return may be hinting at Alibaba looking to re-centre its identity at a time when the company is navigating both internal transition and intensifying competition. After officially stepping down as executive chairman in 2019 and largely retreating from public view, Alibaba has gone through five years of fragmented leadership—spinning off six business units in 2023 before partially reversing the plan in 2024 as growth slowed. In that vacuum, rivals like PDD Holdings and ByteDance have surged ahead: with PDD’s market value even overtaking Alibaba’s in 2024. Others including Temu have become one of the fastest-growing e-commerce apps in the US, alongside Douyin’s domestic retail sales, which are on track to surpass Taobao’s.
Under current CEO Eddie Wu, Alibaba has tried to reposition itself around cloud computing and AI— investing over US$13.8 billion (100 billion yuan) into infrastructure and raising US$3.2 billion through a convertible bond to accelerate its global expansion—even as its core e-commerce business missed revenue forecasts last quarter. That combination of structural change, heavy spending, and softer returns has left the company at what many analysts see as a strategic crossroads. Ma’s renewed presence may not be about reclaiming control so much as reanimating the founder spirit that once made Alibaba a symbol of Chinese tech ambition.